ABOUT ERGON ENERGY Cape York, Various Torres Strait Islands and Palm Island
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ERGON ENERGY ANNUAL STAKEHOLDER REPORT 2009/10 GETTING THE BALANCE RIGHT ANNUAL STAKEHOLDER REPORT 2009/10 Customer Service 13 10 46 7.00am – 6.30pm, Monday to Friday Faults Only 13 22 96 24 hours a day, 7 days a week WORKING TOGETHER TO MANAGE ELECTRICITY DEMAND Life-Threatening Emergencies Only Ergon Energy Corporation Limited Triple zero (000) or 13 16 70 ABN 50 087 646 062 AND SUPPORT QUEENSLAND’S WAY OF LIFE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week Ergon Energy Queensland Pty Ltd Office of the Customer Advocate ABN 11 121 177 802 ANNUAL STAKEHOLDER REPORT 2009/10 Customer Advocate PO Box 15107 Brisbane QLD 4002 [email protected] ergon.com.au Christine Robertson Energy Education Advisor Working with the Mark Biffanti community Area Operations p 22 Manager Burdekin James Bangay Manager Information Strategy There when you need usp 30 Advancing technologies The attached CD contains the Annual Financial Report for Ergon Energy Corporation Limited and its p 53 Controlled Entities – including the Director’s Report, our Financial Statements and Notes, as well as the Directors’ Declaration and Independent Audit Report. It also includes an electronic version of this report, a summary of our Statement of Corporate Intent and an index of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators. Additional printed versions of the Annual Financial Report can be obtained by contacting us on 13 10 46. Ergon Energy’s Annual Stakeholder Report 2008/09 won KEY SERVICE CENTRES the ‘best overall’ category in the Queensland Public Sector Annual Reporting Awards, as well as Best Government- Cairns owned Corporation/ Statutory Authority Annual Report Showing 109 Lake Street CAIRNS QLD 4870 and Best Corporate Governance Annual Report. Townsville (Registered Office) Leadership 22 Walker Street TOWNSVILLE QLD 4810 The report was also highly commended by the Energy p 51 Mackay Supply Association of Australia (ESAA) Sustainable Practice Cnr Gordon and Gregory Streets MACKAY QLD 4740 Framework Awards and maintained Silver benchmarking Rockhampton standard in the Australian Reporting Awards. Cnr Fitzroy and Alma Streets ROCKHAMPTON QLD 4700 Maryborough Rosemarie Price 97-99 Adelaide Street MARYBOROUGH QLD 4650 Customer Response and Toowoomba Improvement Manager Cnr South and Hampton Streets TOOWOOMBA QLD 4350 Brisbane This report is printed on FSC certified 9 Lives Silk 80 61 Mary Street BRISBANE QLD 4000 environmentally stringent coated paper. HAVE YOU SEEN THE SIGNS OF Bree Nott ‘ENERGY SENSE’? Energy Advisor As Queensland continues to grow, and we enjoy an increasing array of comfort and lifestyle appliances, we find ourselves using more electricity than ever before. It’s requiring Sharing our a massive investment in new infrastructure and, while we’ve been growing the electricity expertise network to keep up with demand, it has come p 43 at a cost. The challenge is not ours alone – we’re working jointly across our industry, with all levels of government, and with our customers to find the solutions to better manage demand and support Queensland’s way of life. To help us strike the balance, we’re adopting new technologies and smarter ways of doing things – we’re harnessing the expertise of our people right across the business, or as we like to say our ‘energy sense’. And we’re empowering our customers to use their ‘energy sense’ to manage electricity costs, all to deliver a brighter future for regional Queensland. This report explores the progress we’ve made over the past 12 months, and outlines the challenges that still lie ahead. So read on to see sustainability in action. Cover: Driving down 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 demand 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9 Sheet Metal Worker Rob Brady discussing the plans for a modular switching room with Business Development and Customer Manager p 27 Marcus Leaver. Highlighted here, these solutions are significantly reducing the cost of establishing vital electricity infrastructure, and allowing us to respond rapidly to keep pace with demand (p 16-17). 4, 5 The customers featured in our ‘energy sense’ communication campaign, including the family and business shown here, are helping to highlight how we can all use electricity more efficiently and save on our power bills – as well as helping to engage the community on the challenges associated with peak demand (p 19). Jon Turner 7 Solar photovoltaic skins being fitted to a pole SWER Improvement Manager on Magnetic Island by Ergon Energy workers Sam Walters and Mick Eyles – one of many innovative technology trials under way to explore new solutions to meet the distribution challenges of the future (p 42). aBOuT Our rePOrT Ergon Energy’s Annual Stakeholder Report 2009/10 presents a holistic insight into the organisation’s overall performance for the financial year, and demonstrates Ergon Energy’s contribution to addressing the broader sustainability issues currently facing regional Queensland. This report covers Ergon Energy Corporation Limited and its subsidiary Ergon Energy Queensland Pty Ltd, as well as commentary on our other subsidiaries and joint venture (p 57). Enhance understanding of Measure, publish and key sustainability issues improve performance WHY WE REPORT WHAT WE DO Meet best-practice corporate Transparency builds trust reporting standards and our reputation WHY We rePOrT WHaT We DO cOrPOraTe resPONsiBiLiTY MaTeriaLiTY MaTriX In line with the best-practice governance principle of timely Although all complex issues, this matrix cross-references the concerns of our stakeholders, in the areas were we have a corporate responsibility, and balanced disclosures, we are continuously improving the against the potential impact of these issues on Ergon Energy as a business. transparency and relevance of our stakeholder communications. 3 Broadly, our stakeholders are our government shareholders, HIGH regulators, industry associates, customers, communities, 8 7 24 employees (including representative unions) and suppliers, who as individuals or as a group could potentially be impacted by 6 5 our operations or could effect our ability to serve our customers. 1 10 9 13 To ensure our stakeholders receive the most insightful information 12 in this report, we continually reassess our stakeholders’ needs MEDIUM 11 and expectations, through in-depth interviews, as well as through our customer research, internal employee surveys and NOT REPORTED other stakeholder feedback loops. Assessing the concerns of impact on our business Potential ABOUT ERGON ENERGY REpORT This ERGON ABOUT our stakeholders against the sustainability issues we face as a business, not only clearly guides the materiality of their disclosure in this report, but also ultimately the strategic priority they are LOW given by the business. LOW MEDIUM HIGH Concern of Our Stakeholders At Ergon Energy we believe that reporting from both a financial and non-financial perspective helps us develop a shared MATERIALITY RANKING 7. Employee Engagement understanding with our stakeholders of our common objectives, 1. Affordability of Electricity / 8. Community Health & Safety and encourages the adoption of more sustainable practices Financial Hardship 9. Environmental Impacts and actions throughout the business, by our employees in their 2. Workforce Health & Safety 10. Local Employment & Development Opportunities personal lives, by our industry and by other stakeholders. 3. Growth in Infrastructure Demand 4. Reliability and Security of Electricity Supply 11. Diversity and Inclusion / Indigenous Rights The content of this report has also been guided by the 5. Climate Change Impacts 12. Social Project Sponsorship Australasian Reporting Awards criteria for best-practice reporting, 6. Disaster Management 13. Corruption and Anti-competitive Behaviour as well as the Energy Supply Association of Australia’s Sustainable Practices Framework. In addition, the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G3 Principles of Sustainability Reporting have been used to enhance the comparability of our reporting – to easily locate ANNUAL STAKEHOLDER REPORT 2009/10 2009/10 REPORT STAKEHOLDER ANNUAL information about specific GRI indicators an index is available on the CD at the back of this report . We aim to continue to improve our reporting and we sincerely invite your feedback through our online Feedback Form at www.ergon.com.au/annualreport. You are also welcome to phone ERGON ENERGY ERGON our Stakeholder and Government Relations team on 13 10 46. 2 cONTeNTs ABOUT ERGON ENERGY 4 ThE YEAR iN sUmmARY 6 ChAiRmAN’s mEssAGE 10 ChiEf ExECUTivE’s REpORT 12 REviEw Of OpERATiONs ‘GETTiNG fiT’ – impROviNG OUR OpERATiONAL EffiCiENCY 15 Details our efforts to improve the business’s operational efficiency and investment decisions to minimise customer price impacts and lift service delivery performance sECURiNG ThE NETwORK 24 Showcases the network investment program and the vision. Looks at our reliability improvement efforts, from storm season preparedness to our growing network monitoring capability. BEiNG ‘ALwAYs sAfE’ 34 Highlights strong community electrical safety outcomes. Details our response to workplace health and safety – from rebuilding of our ‘live’ line work capability to our fitness for work focus. ABOUT This REpORT This ABOUT CONTENTs LEADiNG wiTh OUR CLimATE ChANGE REspONsE 39 Explains our climate change responses, from mitigating our own greenhouse gas emissions and adapting our network, to the suite of initiatives under way involving the broader community. mAKiNG iT ALL hAppEN 46 How we’re enabling our people, as well as investing in process and systems improvement,